8th Congress of the APSR

A Public Health Approach to Controlling Asthma and COPD (Guy Mark)

Summer-type Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (Masayuki Ando)

P1: Respiratory Disease

P2: Immunotherapy, Vaccines and Allergen Avoidance

P3: Tuberculosis

• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - The Asian Experience
  • SARS outbreak in Guangdong (Nan-Shan Zhong)
  • SARS outbreak in Hong Kong SAR (Kenneth Tsang)
  • SARS outbreak in Singapore

• New considerations in COPD management and pharmacotherapy
  • An update on COPD guidelines - The recently published Canadian guidelines
  • Tiotropium - Potential long term impacts on lung function
  • An update on COPD issues in Asia - The impact of SARS on COPD management
• A fast and effective treatment of Asthma - Simplifying treatment with Symbicort (Roland Buhl)
• Industrial sponsors: AZ Pharmaceuticals / Bayer Healthcare / Boehringer-Ingleheim / Pfizer

• Industrial sponsors: GlaxoSmithKline / Pfizer / Daiichi Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd

• New treatments for asthma (Homer Boushey)
• Small airways in asthma - Are we treating all areas of inflammation? (Takeshi Fukuda)
• Management of difficult asthma (Wan-Cheng Tan)
• Rationale for new therapeutic agents in asthma management (Roland Buhl)

• Obesity hypoventilation syndrome (Ron Grunstein)
• Upper airway resistance syndrome - Diagnosis and treatment (John Abisheganaden)
• Cardiovascular morbidity in SBD (Mary Ip)

• Spectrum of ILD / New consensus classification (Dong-Soon Kim)
• Diagnostic approach to interstitial lung disease (Laurent Nicod)
• Treatment of interstitial lung disease

• Management of chronic cough in the Asian Pacific region (Nan-Shan Zhong)
• Vocal cord dysfunction - Recognition and management (Sidney Braman)
• Haemoptysis - Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches (Udaya Prakash)

• Prevalence and risk factors of COPD in Asian countries (Yoshinosuke Fukuchi)
• GOLD guidelines - The Asian Pacific perspective (Wan-Cheng Tan)
• Systemic effects of COPD (Percival Punzal)

• Paediatric asthma in the Asian Pacific region (Jessie A. De Bruyne )
• Challenges in treating childhood asthma in the Asian Pacific region (Gary Wong)
• Can asthma be prevented? (Colin Robertson)

• Is asthma prevalence rising? (Christopher Lai)
• How much does asthma affect the daily lives of patients? (Zainudin M. Zin)
• What is the cost of asthma? (Michael Spencer)
• Is there any way we can reduce the burden? (Teresita De Guia)

• Redefining treatment in COPD - New directions in bronchodilator therapy (Paul Seale)
• COPD exacerbations - The ACCP evidence-based report (Sidney Braman)
• Lung volume reduction surgery (Udaya Prakash)
• Pharmacological aids to stop smoking (Philip Eng)

• Cohort studies in childhood asthma - Is there a story to tell? (Colin Robertson)
• The environment we live in and asthma (Azizi Haji Omar)
• Update on treatment modalities for paediatric status asthmaticus (Swee-Fong Tang)

• Community acquired pneumonia in the Asian Pacific region (Chong-Kin Liam)
• Melioidosis (Apirak Palwatwichai)
• CAP - Treatment guidelines (Kenneth Tsang)
• Nosocomial pneumonia (Kang-Hoe Lee)

• An approach to pulmonary embolism (David Chew)
• Pulmonary vasculitides (Udaya Prakash)
• Diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension (Chim-Choy Lang)

• Epidemiology of pneumonia in the Asian Pacific region (Teerachai Chantarojanasiri)
• Approach and treatment of childhood bronchiectasis (Norzila Mohamed Zainudin)
• Long-term morbidity of childhood pneumonias (Teerachai Chantarojanasiri)

• Treatment challenges - Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterium infections (Wing-Wai Yew)
• TB control programme in the Asian Pacific region (George Kutty Simon)
• Managing the patient with adverse drug reactions and liver/renal failure (Wing-Wai Yew)

• BOOP versus COP - Current concepts and treatment approaches (Laurent Nicod)
• Diffuse panbronchiolitis (Naoto Keicho)
• Bronchiectasis - Rationales for treatment in the absence of guideline (Kenneth Tsang)

• Understanding the neonatal origins of chronic lung disease (Lex Doyle)
• Prevention of chronic lung disease - An appraisal of the evidence (T. F. Fok)
• Good lungs, bad brains vs bad lungs, good brains - Outcome measures in chronic lung disease (Lex Doyle)

• Parapneumonic effusions - Evidence-based treatment guidelines (Tow-Keang Lim)
• Management of malignant pleural effusion
• Management issues in pneumothorax (Aziah Mahayiddin)

• Molecular profiling of lung cancers and its clinical implications
• Screening and early detection of lung cancer
• New strategies in the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer (Wah-Kit Lam)

• Pathophysiology of acute lung injury and ARDS (Marc Zelter)
• ARDS - The evidence for non-ventilatory therapies (Kang-Hoe Lee)
• Optimal techniques of mechanical ventilation in ARDS (Patrick Tan)

• Pulmonary rehabilitation - The Australian experience (Norbert Berend)
• Pulmonary rehabilitation - The Philippine experience (Percival Punzal)
• Pulmonary rehabilitation - The Japanese experience (Jun Ueki)
• Pulmonary rehabilitation - The Singapore experience (Kian-Chung Ong)
• Home-based pulmonary rehabilitation programme - The Korean experience (Dong-Soon Kim)

• Induction therapy and surgery for stage I-IIIA,B NSCLC (Michael Boyer)
• Chemotherapy in advanced stage lung cancer - Have we got the evidence? (Reury-Perng Perng)
• Current treatment of small cell lung cancer (Michael Boyer)

• NIPPV in COPD
• NIPPV for chronic respiratory failure (non-COPD)
• NIPPV in acute respiratory failure in non-COPD patients

• Lung transplantation in the Asian Pacific region (Allan Glanville)
• Setting up a transplantation programme in a resource limited country (Visit Udompanich)
• Complications of lung transplantation (J. Raghuram)

• A resident and non-resident is permitted to carry into and out of Malaysia, ringgit notes not exceeding RM 1000 per person.
• There is no limit on the amount of foreign currency notes and travellers-cheques that can be brought into the country.
• A resident is permitted to carry out of Malaysia foreign currency notes including travellers-cheques not exceeding RM10,000 equivalent per person.
• A non-resident is permitted to carry out of Malaysia foreign currency notes including travellers-cheques not exceeding the amount brought in.

Banking hours (except for the states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) are from 1000 to 1600, Monday to Friday, and 0930 to 1130 on Saturday except for the first and third Saturday of each month when banks are closed.

All commercial banks are authorized foreign exchange dealers, and licensed money changers are found in urban centres, key entry/exit points and shopping complexes. Foreign currency and travellers-cheques can also be exchanged at major hotels.

Peninsular Malaysia can be entered by road or rail from Singapore and Thailand. Driving is on the left. Most major car rental companies operate counters at KLIA, other airports and urban centres. Internal transport is efficient and cheap and includes air-conditioned express buses and long-distance taxi services.

Entry

Visa

Immigration

• Wines, spirits/malt liquor not exceeding one litre
• Tobacco not exceeding 225 gms or 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars
• Footwear not exceeding one pair
• Apparel not exceeding three pieces
• One unit each of a portable electrical and/or battery operated appliance for personal hygiene
• Food preparations to a total value not exceeding RM 75
• Cosmetics and soap to a total value not exceeding RM 200
• Souvenirs and gifts not exceeding RM 200 in value, except from Labuan and Langkawi where the total value shall not exceed RM500

Except for the last item, duty free items must be for personal use only. A 30% tax will be levied on items that exceed the above limits.

The following are duty free: fountain pens, cigarette lighters, printed books, newspapers, journals, perfume, skincare products, cosmetics, portable radio with sound recorder (weighing less than 10 kg with AC/DC) pocket and wrist watches, clocks, cameras, flashbulb. Flashlight apparatus, film in rolls, pocket calculator, (weighing less than 150 gms) video tapes (blank or recorded), cinema cameras, projectors, sound recorders, sound reproducers for films less than 16mm width including cameras for double 8mm films and video cameras.

The airport tax for domestic flights is RM 5 and for international flights is RM 40.

Duration: Approx 4 hours
Price: US$10
Pickup Time: 8:45 am & 1:45 pm
Min Pax: 11

The tour begins at the King's Palace where you can embark on a photo shoot with the palace in the background. Next stop is the House of Parliament followed by the National Monument which was built as a memorial to those who served to protect the country in its hour of need. You will then be whisked to the National Mosque, before proceeding to a visit of the Old Railway Station. Departing from the station your next stop win be the Moorish Styled Federal Court and thereafter the Tudor styled Cricket Club opposite the court before finally arriving at the Pewter Factory.

The Royal Selangor Pewter Factory has the largest pewter tankard in the world on view at its entrance. You will be taken on a tour of the factory where you will see workers demonstrating the method of making the alloy into decorative objects. Artistically designed accessories for the home are available for sale in the factory shop.

Duration: Approx 4 hours
Price: US$10
Pickup Time: 8:45 am & 1:45 pm
Min Pax: 11

Board the bus and head for Batu Caves. There you will experience plenty of myth and culture. Next, head for the Scorpion Farm and discover the amazing world of these arachnids. After visiting with the creepy, crawlies it's off to the Batik Factory to see how simple threads are woven into works of art and beauty. Continue on with the tour to the Orang Ash Museum, Malay Village (Rumah Pak Ali). The last stop will be the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory where you will be given a Factory Tour and be able to purchase articles from the factory shop.

Duration: Approx 4 hours
Price: US$23
Pickup Time: 8:20 am & 2:00 pm
Min Pax: 8

If you want to experience the Malaysian way of life, take this tour! This night tour contains a harmonious interwoven mixture of different races, culture and religions.

All your five senses will be stimulated, from the smell of the burning jasmine at The Sri Mahamariamman Temple to the hearing of the hectic haggling for merchandise at the open air bazaar of Chinatown. Indulge in a buffet dinner where a sumptuous variety of local delicacies await your taste buds. While you feast, you will be entertained to an array of Malaysian Cultural Performances.

Duration: Approx 4 hours
Price: US$27
Pickup Time: 8:45 am
Min Pax: 6

This lush, 1,528 hectares of greenery, lie just 16 km northwest of Kuala Lumpur or half hour's drive from the city centre. Here, you have the opportunity to experience first hand, a tropical rain forest.

Although not a public park in a real sense (it was actually set up in 1929 as a forest reserve, meant for research), the rain forest area has many attractions and with easy accessibility attracts many local as well as overseas visitors.

Duration: Approx 7 hours
Price: US$26
Pickup Time: 8:45 am
Min Pax: 13

A pleasant 2-hour journey will take you to the beginning of Malaysian history. History goes back as far as 500 Years in Malacca and you wm discover many remnants of Malaysian History present here.

You will be taken to St. Peter's Church built in 1710. This is the oldest Christian Church in Malaysia. You will also visit the largest 17th century Chinese cemetery outside of China, located at Bukit China or Chinese Hill followed by the famous gateway "Porta De Santiago", the ruins of St. Paul's Church lined by 17th Century Dutch tombstones and the "Red Square" - the salmon-pink Dutch administrative building which today houses the Melaka Museum and some other government offices.

You win also visit Christchurch, the Sultan's Well, the Cheng Hoon Teng Temple which is also known as the "Abode of the Green Merciful Clouds". You will even have time to take a stroll along Melaka's "jonker antique street" and maybe even pick up some bargains. The tour ends by the banks of the Melaka River.

Duration: Approx 4 hours
Price: US$23
Pickup Time: 8:45 am
Min Pax: 11

Amidst the freshness of cool, crisp mountain air approximately 6,000 feet above sea level lies Malaysia's only casino resort. Fringed by one of the oldest tropical jungles in the world, you can try your luck at Blackjack, Keno, Roulette or a host of other casino games.

If tempting lady luck is not your cup of tea, then take time off to enjoy the numerous recreational facilities of the outdoor and indoor theme parks available here. Whichever one you choose, you will find more than just tingling freshness.

Duration: Approx 4 hours
Price: US$53
Pickup Time: 4:15 pm
Min Pax: 6

Proceed to Kuala Selangor town in the quiet hamlet of Kampung Kuantan, site of one of the largest firefly colonies in the world. You will visit "Kota Melawati" formerly known as "Fort Altinsburg", the execution block, royal mausoleum and colonial buildings. A bird sanctuary park is located at the foot of Bukit Melawati. This is an ideal place for bird-watchers to watch local as well as migratory birds. Also found here are silvered-leaf monkeys well as many varieties of butterflies.

You will be rowed upstream in a small boat in the quiet darkness to witness the fireflies on the 'blinking trees'. This scintillating display of fireflies portrays an image of a flashing Christmas tree. The synchronized, rhythmic flashing is produced by the thousands of fireflies found in the mangrove swamp of Kampung Kuantan. The skill local boatman will make this experience a truly memorable and cherished one.

Duration: Approx 4 hours
Price: Adult - US$27, Child - US$22
Pickup Time: 8:30 am & 2:00 pm
Min Pax: 5

Visit the serene and scenic natural Lake Gardens, the living tropical paradise in the heart of bustling Kuala Lumpur. An educational tour of flora and fauna which includes the Hibiscus garden and Orchid garden which consists of over 500 species and hybrids, The Butterfly Park and The Bird Park have the Worlds Largest walk in Free Flight Aviary with approx 3,000 birds of 200 species from all over the world.

Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia Premier National Park, covers 4,343 square kilometres covering Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu state. Taman Negara National Park is 130 million years old and claims to be the oldest rain forest in the world.

The highest mountain in the Peninsula, Gunung Tahan which is 2,186 meters high stands in the park. Covered with primary jungle and scattered limestone outcrop, Taman Negara is truly the outdoor destination for holidaymakers.

Lying off the north-western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Langkawi comprises a group of 99 islands, each with its own natural appeal. Langkawi is a treasure trove for visitors due to its idyllic setting, legends and myths. Among the prominent ones are Pulau Dayang Bunting (isle of the Pregnant Maiden), Pulau Singa Besar - a wildlife sanctuary, Pulau Puyar - a marine Park and Pulau Beras Basah (Isle of Wet Rice).

Pulau Langkawi is also an ideal spot for holiday escapades with its fine white sandy beaches, blue green waters and enchanting marine life beneath the waters. Plenty of duty free goods are available to purchase especially in the town of Kuah, the main town, which is a shopping haven for locals and visitors alike.

Bounded on the north and east by Kedah state, Penang is one of the 13 states of the Federation of Malaysia located on the north-west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Traditionally known as 'The Pearl of the Orient', Penang comprises Pulau Pinang (Betel Nut Island or Penang Island) and a thin strip on the mainland, called Seberang Prai (Province Wellesley).

Penang has a potpourri of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Nyonya cultures. Georgetown, named after King George III of England, is the seat of administration and also the commercial hub of the state situated in Penang Island, which was originally named Prince of Wales Island. This bustling metropolitan city combines the best of east and west as seen in its fascinating collection of fine old buildings, each bearing the stamp of different foreign influences in its colourful history such as Khoo Kongsi, Kapitan Keling Mosque, Fort Cornwallis and many others.

All types of water sports can be found in Penang, which owes much of its fame to its fine beaches.

Pangkor Island lies west of Peninsular Malaysia facing the estuary of Sungai Air Tawar. Pangkor Island is an idyllic and beautiful island, a paradise for a carefree and relaxing holiday with its enchanting beaches, crystalline blue waters and cool refreshing breeze especially on the western coastline, such as Pantai Puteri Dewi, Teluk Belanga, Teluk Nipah or Teluk Cempedak. One can just swim or bask in the sun with complete privacy amidst tranquil surroundings.

Facing the mainland on the east coast, there is a continuous village strip comprising Sungai Pinang Kecil (SPK), Sungai Pinang Besar (SPB) and Pangkor Town. Cluttered but full of interest, one can look at boat-building, fish being dried or frozen as well as a colourful south Indian temple. There is also the added attraction of the Mini Great Wall of China with its rock paintings and other features of dubious artistic merit found in Foo Lin Kong Temple located in SPB.

Located 45 km north-east off the coast of Kuala Terengganu, The Redang Archipelago comprises Redang Island, Pinang Island, Ling Island, Ekor Tebu Island, Kerengga Besar Island, Kerengga Kecil Island, Paku Besar Island, Paku Kecil Island and Lima Island.

Relatively undeveloped and unspoiled, Redang Island provides excellent opportunities for snorkeling, scuba diving, jungle trekking coupled with a range of other sports to keep one occupied. If activity is not your idea of a holiday, then just relax and enjoy the glistening white beaches. The real fantasy island lies beneath the water surrounding the 9 islands. Under the crystal clear water are splendid coral gardens filled with corals (both hard and soft), foliose and gargonian in the shallower regions along with a captivating variety of fascinating tropical fish, unspoiled reefs and many types of sea creatures awaits to be explored.

Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Jesselton, is the capital of the state of Sabah. With a population of 200,000, it is the gateway to East Malaysia with direct non-stop flights to and from Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Manila, Brunei, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Kuching.

Tanjong Aru is one of the many beautiful West Coast beaches, and just off shore less than half an hour's boat ride lie the five islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. Beautiful white sandy beaches, coral reefs and myriads of underwater creatures abound. Back in town every Sunday morning is the Gaya Street Fair, where local delicacies, handicrafts and antiques, as well as clothes, furniture and a whole host of other goods can be bought. But you should be there by 8.00 am. Constructed with a resplendent dome, the Sabah State Mosque which is located on the way to the airport is a famous landmark.

For the sports enthusiasts there are of course the water sports - snorkelling, diving, sailing and wind-surfing. Two fine golf clubs exist, one at Tanjung Aru (9 holes) and the other, the 18-hole Sabah Golf & Country Club at Bukit Padang. There is also the Kinabalu Yacht Club at Tanjung Aru and large sports complex at Likas, with full facilities. You could also try the night market in town which starts about 7.00 pm. Not only are Clothes, souvenirs and handicrafts available, the eating stalls can also be good.

It has justly been described as the most attractive city in Southeast Asia. Or, as one visitor described it: "It's like living in a garden". That's Kuching, Sarawak's capital, one of the most liveable and people-friendly cities in the region. Kuching, its name means cat in Malay, has all the modern amenities without losing its old world charm. Multi-storey buildings blend with structures from colonial days and the colorful Malay and Chinese shop houses.

A stroll along the Waterfront at any time of day is a good start for a tour on foot around the city. It's a very walkable place with none of the traffic snarls or pollution of other Asian centers.

Eating is a favourite pastime with Kuching's people and there's such a variety to chose from, Western, Malay, Chinese, Indian. Try the roadside stalls or the food outlets in the malls. Try satay, one of the bewildering variety of noodles or the ubiquitous chicken rice. Be adventurous. Wherever you eat it's perfectly safe.